Automatic safety system for electrolyzers.



Patenfed Oct 17,1916, 2 SHEET S-SHEET 1- H. R. SWA-RTLEY,-JR. & L.LARSEN. AUTOMATIC SAFETY SYSTEM FOR ELECTROLYZERS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21, I9I6.

, a V i E @7505 3x7 :w m w larenfvd Oct. 17, 1916.

8 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Q H. R. SWARTLEY, JR. & L. LARSEN. AUTOMATIC SAFETYSYSTEM FOR ELECTROLYZERS. APPLICATION HLEb JULY 2|, 1916.

M... W Y a 4 N\ R ivy J Oil Am i tiNrr p srarEs ra'rENr oEEiicE.

HENRY R. SWAETLEY, JR, or GREAT NECK. AND LOUIS LAnsEN, or BROOKLYN, NEW

3 some ASSIGNORS T DAVIS-BOURNONVILLE COMPANY, or JERSEY CITY, NEW

JERSEY, A coEroEA'rIoN-oE NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY SYSTEM FORELECTROLYZERS.

Patented Get. 1?, 1916.

Application filed July 21, 1916. Serial No. 110,464.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, llnxnr R. SWART- LrIY, Jr, and LOUIS LARSEN,citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Great Neck,Long Island, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, andboroughof Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York. haveinvented certain new and. useful Improvements in Adtomatic SafetySystems for lilcctrolyzers, of which the following is a specification.

In the electrolysis oi water for the commercial production o l' oxygeiian'dliydrogen great care must be exercised to keep the ases separatedduring and after liberation, in order both to preserve the purity of theproduct and to avoid highly dangerous explosions. To this end theelectrolyaercells are specially designed so as to prevent migration andmingling of the gases therein;

but these precautions do not safeguard against the condition whicharises in event of the dissociating current flowing in the reversedirection to that intended, in which case hydrogen is liberated at theoxygen electrode and oxygen at the hydrogen electrode, the gases thencepassing into the eduction systems, eventually to reach the gasometers,compressing apparatus and'presof the electrolyzer when the plant isshutdown, such discharge current flowing through tlte external circuitand dynamo in the opposite direction to the dissociating current, andbeing capable, under some. circumstances, of reversing the polarity ofthe dynamo, so that when the plant is again started up it will generatecurrent 9f reverse polarity. .1, In addition to this possibilitypermitting cells of thiskind to discharge is injurioustoithfe cellsthemselves. and more especially fto the anodesthereof, which are usuallyof iron nickel plated and are not adapted to withstand repeatedreversals.

With the above in View the object of the invention is to provide asafety system which will not permit the electrolyzers to operate underimproper conditions and which will prevent discharging.

Two embodiments of the system will now he briefly described, it beingunderstood however that various other modifications may be designed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of awater-electrolyzer plant showing a form which the safety system maytake'where the voltage of the line wires is too high for the cells, orwhere they carry alternating current and a motorgenerator set istherefore employed; and Fig. 2 is another diagram showing how the systemmay be adapted for direct connection with the line wires of a directcurrent distributing system. Another possibility would bean isolatedelectrical generating 'plant, in which case the dynamo supplying theelectrolyzing current would be driven by a steam engine or anyprime'mover.

In Fig. 1 the current for decomposing the Water is generated by a dynamol) driven by an electric motor M. The motor is included in a circuit 4across the line, and is shown for simplicity as shunt wound, though acompound wound or an alternating current motor may be employed. A motor,starter is represented diagrammatically by the resistances R R .R, andswitches S, S", S and S Any starter may be used either manual orautomatic, and it will be understood that in starting the rc sistancecoils are cut out in the order of their numerals, and in stopping, inthe reverse order. For convenience the starter may he assumed to beautomatic, in which case the shunt circuit 5 represents the circuit forcontrolling the starter, and the coil C therein is symbolic of suitablemagnetic means whereby the switches are actuated in proper sequence uponclosing-the line switches S 3, and the starter circuit switchS". The

nature of the different types of starters be.-

ing well understood, itis not thought necessary to obscure the diagramwith a full representationof the construction and; wiring of oncsofthese devices. Switches S and S Y are placeglfin the starter circuit forcomplished by a potential relay R the coil' cell operates the switch 5in circuit 9, and

thereby controls the main switch S, the switch S remaining closed aslong as the voltage of the generator is sufiiciently high and openingwhen the voltage falls below a predetermined safe value. p

The oxygen and acetylene pipe and 8 leading from the cells deliver thega'ws into seperete gammeters l8 and 19, from which compressors 90 and21 driven by motors 22 and 23 compress the gases into pressure tanks 24-and 25. These motors are represented as connected acrcssrthc line in circults 26 and 27, each containing two switches 88, S and S S. Theswitches and S constitute upper and lower limit switches operated by theoxygen gasometer 18, and switches 8 and S bear a similar relation to thehydrogen gasometer 19. The switches S and S are adapted to be opened bypressure responsive devices 28 and 29 connected with the respectivepressure taulrs,-these devices being adjusted to open the correspondingswitches when the prewar-es in the tanks reach a predetermined maximum.:It will therefore be u derstood that when the gasorneters are full ,herising bells open the switclies S and 3 thus stop-- ping the main motorM and shutting down the plant. When thereafter, the operation of thecompressors'has Withdrawn gas from the gasometers, so that their bellsdescend, the switches 55 and S are again closed, and if the generationof gases from the gascmetcrs continues too for, the switches 55 and Sare opened by the descending bells thereby stopping the compressormotors, which start again when the gasometer bells rise. "When thecompressors have operated. for a suficient length of time to build upthe maximum pressure permitted in the tanks, the devices 28 and 29 onenthe compressor motor circuitsrjwith the result of stopping compressingaction. When, now, the gasomeier bells rise to their upper limit becausegas is no longer being with drawn therefrom by the compressors, theswitches 55 and S are :meucd and the electrcly'lzcr put outer actionalready do scribed.

In Fig. 2 the one current 18 used in the clcctrolyzer. Consequently themotor-generator set and some of the circuits and devices of Fig. l areunnecessary. but the u iring and relations may be otherwise similar, andare so shown.

The clectrolyzer circuit 6" across the line and is provided with avariable resistance or its equivalent 30 to adjust the current to theneeds of the cells. The coil (1 of the main switch in a circuit 9. whichin addition to the ,-;.i-.'1tches S and is connected S, also containsthe upper limit gasometer switches S and S".

Various other modlfications of the invention' are permissible.

fWhat We claim as new is: l. The combination of a water electrolyzer,means for causing a current capable of dissociating water to flowthrough the electrolyzer, and means controlled by said current forstopping the generation of gases in eyent of the current starting toflowju the wrong direction.

2. The combination with a water electrolyzer and. means for supplyingthe same with current to dissociate the water, of means com rising apolarized device in circuit with tie electrolyzer for causing opening ofthe electrolyzer in event of the dissociating current starting to passin the wrong direction.

3. The combination with an elcctrolyzer, of a relay connected with theelectrolyzer, and means controlled by said relay for stopping theoperation of the electrolyzer in event of the dissociating currentstarting to pass in the wrong direction.

4. The combination of an electrolyzer and its circuit, anelcctro-magnetic switch for opening and closing-said circuit, a circuitfor operating said switch, and a polarized relay connected with theelectrolyzcr and controlling said switch-operating circuit.

5. The combination of an electrolyzer, a supply circuit therefor, a mainswitch for opening and closing said circuit, a hand reset relaycontrolling said main switch, and a polarized relay connected with theelectrolyzer circuit and operating through the hand re-set relay tocontrol the main switch.

6. The combination with an electrolyzer and its circuit, of a relay andmeans operated thereby for opening said circuit in event of currentstarting to flow in the Wrong direction, saidrclay being connected withthe electrolyzcr circuit at the clectrolyzer.

7. The combination with an electrolyzcr, of a shunt in the clcctrolyzercircuit at the clectrolyzer, a relay connected with the terminals o-fsaid shunt, and means whereby said relay causes stopping of theoperation ol' the clcctrolyzcr in event of the dissociating currentstarting to flow in the Wrong (l i rcction. g

8. The combination with an electrolyzer and its circuit", of a mainswitch for opening and closing the clcctrolyzer circuit, a circuit foroperating said main switch, separate switches in said operating circuit, a polarized relay connected with the clectrolyzcr and controllingone of said switches in ail. newness 9.. The combination of a cell forthe electrolysis of water, electrolyzer circuit, a source of electricenergy for causing current to flow through the cell to dissociate thewater, and means for opening the electrolyzer circuit in event of thepotential of the source falling to such low value that diecharging wouldoccur. I

1.0."ll1e combination of a cell for the electrolysis of water, anelectrolyzer circuit, a source of electric energy for causing current toflow through the circuit and cell to dissociate the water, a potentialrelay having its coil connected across the source, a circuit controlledby said relay, a main switch in the electrolyzer circuit, and means inthe circuit controlled by the potential relay for operating said mainswitch.

ll. The combination of a water electrolyzer, an electrolyzcrcircuit, asource of electric energy for supplying the same with current, a mainelectro-magnetic switch controlling the electrolyzer circuit, apotential relay having its coil connected across the source, a handre-setrelay, s id relays jointly controlling said main switch, and apolarized relay connected with the electrolyzer anda gasometer connectedtl'lerewith, a pressure pressure tank and-also controllingsaidc0mpressing apparatus.

1d. The combination of a Water electrolyzer, means for supplying thesame with current to dissociate the Water, and electrical means incircuit with the electrolyzer for stopping the supply of current theretoin event of dissociating current starting to flow in the wrongdirection.

15. The combination with an elcctrolyzer 'and its circuit, of a motorgenerator set for supplying the same with current, a relay in circuitwith the electrolyzer, and means whereby said relay opens both theelectro lyzer and the motor circuits in event of the dissociatingcurrent starting to flow in the wrong direction.

16. The combination with an electrolyzer and its circuit, of a motorgenerator set for supplying the same With current, a relay in circuitwith the electrolyzer, and means whereby said relay breaks the motorcircuit in event of the dissociating current starting to flow in theWrong direction.

HENRY R. SWARTLEY, JR. LOUIS LAB-SEN.

